DIY & Budget Friendly Wedding Projects

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Monthly Archives: January 2013

It started the weekend as a mere cardboard box my karaoke machine came in. It is now our weeding card box -or- “mailbox” to be more descriptive.

I was browsing vintage mailboxes and got inspired. This may be the most fru-fru thing I’ve ever made. And just to make sure it reaches cute overload, I made a pop-up sign that says “Thank You!” when one opens the drawer to put the card in. Yes, when a guest opens the front drawer flap to put their card in, the sign on top will pop up and say thank you. It’s sure be a hit with the kids at the wedding 🙂

I don’t have a tutorial, but basically:

1. Find a box.2. Cut a flap in the front on three sides leaving the bottom attached. This will be your drawer front. Duct tape the inside of the bottom of the flap (maybe the outside too-you can cover it later) so it will have more strength as it gets bent (opened) multiple times.3. Cut two drawer side pieces with an arc between the edges. Here is someone else’s tutorial on that. http://torispelling.com/blog/post/tutorial-kids-diy-mailbox
Attach side pieces with duct tape –after you make sure they fit 🙂

4. Punch three holes in the flap: one in center for the knob, and one in each corner for the ribbon or string.5. Make your pop-up sign for on top out of card stock. Punch one hole in each corner of it for the ribbon. You will need two pieces card stock (the other piece get used in step 7). I recommend a thin piece of cardboard for the middle of the sign for extra sturdiness.6. Sit the sign where you want it on top. Punch two holes in the box top behind the sign for the ribbon to feed through.

7. Duct tape the sign to the box by running tape over the back of your sign onto the box (the tape is shaped like an “L” when the sign stands up. Use your other piece of card stock to cover the tape in the back of the sign. You will also want to attach a piece of wood, marble, or something right behind the sign. This will keep it from flopping backwards. I just use hot glue to attach some flowers.8. Optional Step: paper mâché the entire box to cover all duct tape and to make a nice paint suface.9. Tie thin ribbon (or string) to each corner of the sign, feed them through the holes on the top of the box, open the drawer (flap), grab the ribbon and tie to the corners of the front flap (where you punched the holes). Adjust tension of the ribbon as necessary so the sign pops up. Optional: glue washers where the ribbon feeds through the holes for looks and for strength.10. Decorate your mailbox. I found that I had to make the sign top heavy so it would fall back down when the drawer was closed. So I hot glued on some flat sided marbles on top.

Sorry I didn’t take pics as I went. It was all trial an error for me. It went through several iterations. I took several pics of the final product, all painted. Hopefully, you’ll be able to figure it out.

Notice the flowers on top? They are my previous blog -Painted Paper Flowers. In fact all the decorations on my box are paper (except the knob & pearls).

Supplies

CuriousPurplePig Rating: 8.5 oinks, could be messier. I do manage to get paint in my hair though. Very easy. Takes about 30 minutes per flower.

Steps

Each petal is cut from regular 8×11 paper, free form “teardrop” shape. The outside petals take 1/4 of the sheet, the inside ones, 1/6th. I advise at least 5 petals of each size (10 total). I stack the paper and do them all at once. I cut waves into the edges too.

Lightly fold the paper in 4ths for the larger petals:

And into 6ths for the smaller, inside petals (fold in half, then into thirds):

Using two colors of watered down craft acrylic paint, I quickly paint each side of the petals. The water helps to blend the colors. Just follow the form of the petal with your strokes. Only use one brush for both colors. Don’t worry too much how it looks. UPDATE: After making about 50 of these flowers, I’ve found that the cheaper the craft acrylic paint the better. The “good stuff” is too thick and has to be watered down to much. I don’t want to offend Craft Smart brand, but it works really well for watered down/blended effects like these flowers. I also only spend about 30 seconds on each side of the petal while painting it. You don’t have to do designer petals because when it is all put together, it will look great despite the quick paint job.

I used more darker color on the smaller inside petals, and went lighter on the outside. More water mixed in lightens the paint too.

{{{{{paint drying}}}}}

Find a center stick. I have a bunch of old dried stems lying around that I use. But a skewer stick will work too (or a stick from your yard–even better). The larger the flower, the larger the diameter the stick.

UPDATE: I switched from using sticks to florist wire stems like these:

I then glue a piece of styrofoam or rolled paper on the end to give it a larger diameter base to glue the petals. With the wire, I can bend and shape the flowers as needed in the centerpiece, much better.

I use a paint brush handle to roll the paper edges.

Low temp glue glue gun, my best friend. Attach the petals by gluing at the base.

If the paper tears a bit, just dab with glue to seal it. Keep working around until you like it.

I used more glue and then florist tape to secure it more to the stick.